Thousands protest in Chicago as NATO summit opens

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters carried their anti-war message to world leaders at a NATO summit on a steamy Sunday, in a mostly peaceful march led by a group of Iraq War veterans who symbolically gave back their military medals.

In tornado-weary Joplin, graduates eager to move on despite Obama visit

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - Having the president of the United States speak at commencement would normally be the most memorable day in the life of a high school senior.

Tropical Storm Alberto not seen to gain strength, forecasters say

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alberto churned slowly toward the South Carolina coast on Sunday where heavy rain and dangerous surf are expected from the beach resort of Myrtle Beach south to Savannah, Georgia, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Mom with flesh-eating disease had seven operations: brother

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A 36-year-old new mother of twins who is suffering from a "flesh-eating" bacterial infection has undergone a series of operations to remove dead or damaged tissue in a South Carolina hospital, her brother said on Sunday.

Dale Chihuly's 'Glass House' shines in Seattle

(Reuters) - Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when "Chihuly Garden and Glass" opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever.

Fed by dry brush, wildfires persist in Southwest

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire whipped up by winds and dry conditions threatened to trigger more evacuations on Sunday, just as firefighters were nearly done battling the biggest of four blazes in the state.

Possible engine problem delays U.S. rocket launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The launch of a privately owned Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was delayed on Saturday when a computer detected a possible problem with one of the rocket's engines, a Space Exploration Technologies official said.

Civil rights group NAACP endorses gay marriage

(Reuters) - The nation's largest civil rights group, the NAACP, endorsed gay marriage on Saturday, giving a boost to the movement to legalize same-sex nuptials despite reservations expressed by some black ministers.

U.S. marks 150th anniversary of Homestead Act offering free land

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday marks the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Homestead Act, the law that gave away 270 million acres of land and transformed the vast American interior.

New York City's most senior openly gay official weds

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Christine Quinn, New York's highest-ranking openly gay official and the leading candidate to be the city's next mayor, married her longtime girlfriend on Saturday, walking down the aisle to Beyonce's "Ave Maria."